Southwest unveils plans for its first airport lounges, new owners and familiar names fuel New York’s restaurant revivals, and Herzog & de Meuron reimagines a California warehouse for Eames Institute. All that and more in this week’s Five on Friday.
Jean-Georges to launch Hudson Yards eateries
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Tin House may have shuttered last year, but culinary legend Jean-Georges Vongerichten still has plenty up his sleeve. The chef and restaurateur extraordinaire is set to make his next move uptown at 70 Hudson Yards. Eater reports that the office tower currently under construction will feature a 50-seat, 2,000-square-foot lobby restaurant as well as a 3,000-square-foot grab-and-go version of Vongerichten’s ABC restaurants. Jean-Georges Management will also oversee an upper level event space spanning more than 5,000 square feet for onsite catering. If there’s anyone who can cough up the money for a Jean-Georges dinner these days, it’s a Hudson Yards corporate employee.
Southwest Airlines introduces slew of new perks
Photo courtesy of Carlos Yudica/Adobe Stock
Southwest Airlines is known for a lot, but matching the perks of its competitors isn’t really one of them. That’s all about to change. According to Afar, the brand is set to add its first airport lounges late next year in Austin, Baltimore, Honolulu, and Nashville—with seven others in the pipeline. Dubbed Southwest Icon Lounges, Southwest is developing their new models in collaboration with Chase. Images revealed during a media event last month in Dallas depict the airline’s signature red, blue, and yellow hues adorning the spaces along with warm metals, upholstered seating, and a bar with color palettes inspired by what the brand calls “golden hour.” Locally inspired F&B as well as areas for relaxation, work, and recharging will be featured as well. I’m assuming seats also won’t be assigned for the lounges, but we’ll see!
Herzog & de Meuron leads new Eames Institute
Rendering courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron
Slated for development in California’s Marin County, the masterplan for the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity has been revealed, Led by Herzog & de Meuron and Bay Area-based EHDD, the project will transform a midcentury modern warehouse into a cultural destination with space for art installations, flexible galleries, learning and gathering hubs, dining options, and a theater. The large-scale adaptive reuse will also be accompanied by a revitalization of 88.5 acres of onsite gardens and grounds (that part’s led by, you guessed it, Field Operations). The Eames Archives will form one part of the museum, while exhibitions and programming space will showcases a diversity of disciplines, creative processes, and ideas. Currently in the first phase of review, the multidisciplinary museum is slated for completion by 2030, permitting approval by the City of Novato, ArchDaily reports.
Old restaurants make a comeback
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Resurrection is on the menu! According to Grub Street, a handful of shuttered eateries are making a comeback and demand is hot. Among them is the revamped Café des Artistes, which is set to return after closing its doors on the Upper West Side in 2009. The space once home to East Side staple Donohue’s Steak House will also reopen next year with a new concept conceived to attract the old regulars. Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Sicilian sandwich shop Ferdinando’s Focacceria has rebranded into Bar Ferdinando, while Sam’s on Atlantic Avenue has also returned with the same name, design, and Italian cuisine. A longtime favorite of this writer (before TikTok turned it into a Gen Z haunt), Montero Bar & Grill now operates under new ownership aiming to cash in on the nostalgia despite modern changes like accepting credit cards and instating a free pool table. Maybe not all good things come to an end.
Join us at BDNY!
The 2025 BDNY show floor; photo by Caphsr
BDNY is finally here, and you’ve got plenty of opportunities to join us in celebrating the best of design all weekend long. Tonight’s Platinum Circle Awards will honor legends David Ashen, Verena Haller, Mary Alice Palmer, and Missy Robbins. Two invigorating days will follow at BDNY starting this Sunday, where innovative products and exhibitors will fill the show floor of the Javits Center along with a full schedule of stimulating conversation from industry leaders. The grand finale, the 46th annual Gold Key Awards, will wrap things up on Monday evening in celebration of the top hospitality projects, products, and people from across the globe. We can’t wait to see you there!